Counting
by Ari and Mo
Summary: Yamamoto does what he has to do, and he's not sorry.


1)

The first man Yamamoto Takeshi kills is named Nagasaki Akio, and he is an assassin after Tsuna. His hair is a beautiful blonde color, and Yamamoto can't help but admire the man's drive as he parries his sword thrusts, but all it takes is one missed to send Yamamoto's blade into his heart – it seems easy, too easy, and Yamamoto doesn't know quite what to do as the dead man falls before him.

That is, until reflexes kick in and he vomits all over his shoes, cries like a little baby, and passes out. When he wakes, he makes his way back to headquarters and grins at Tsuna when he lies and tells him he got lost.

2)

He doesn't remember the second very much.

3)

Or the third.

4)

The only thing he remembers about the fourth man he kills is the look on Tsuna's face when he turns around – a look of mixed fear and repulsion that he at first thinks is for the blood of the attempted assassin that has splattered all over. It isn't until later that Yamamoto realizes that terror and disgust was directed at him.

5)

His name is Wanatabe Kurosaki, and Yamamoto doesn't remember a single thing about him except the rush of feelings as he lops off his head with one foul sweep – those feelings of hate for this man who dared challenge the powerful Yamamoto Takeshi, for that man who thought he could hurt the Vongola.

6)

The sixth man begs for mercy. Yamamoto can't afford that anymore.

6.5)

Yamamoto is surprised to find that for all his big words and death threats, Gokudera has never killed a man. And so, with the dead man lying on the ground before them, Yamamoto can't help but feel glad to be there. He holds back the other boy's pale hair as he is sick into the bushes, hands him his ruined jacket to clean himself up with, and, when he passes out, catches him before he hits the ground and carries him home.

7)

The seventh man nearly kills Yamamoto before he goes; burying his sword deep into Yamamoto's left shoulder. It takes several months for him to be able to fight again, and years before he can fight normally. Tsuna sits with him as he lies useless in bed and smiles, because he says it reminds him of their first meeting. He wonders if Yamamoto is sorry he won't be able to play baseball for a while. They both know Yamamoto hasn't thought about baseball in a long time.

8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 )

He does what he has to do.

14)

The only thing different about number fourteen is that it is a woman, and it is the first time Yamamoto is sick after a kill since number three.

14.5)

The man is almost dead when Yamamoto passes out from exhaustion and blood loss. He later learns that they couldn't even identify the corpse by the time Gokudera was done with it.

15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)

Numbers fifteen through twenty-two happen on the same day – a _**Millefore raid on the Vongla. They came to kill them, and as Yamamoto takes them down one by one, hearing the voices of his friends in the distance, he closes off from the fights. In the end, to only thing he remembers about them is trying to wash the blood out from underneath his fingernails for several hours afterwards.**_

_**23) **_

_**He can't remember number twenty-three very well, but he remembers every detail of the fight – the beautiful swordplay, the logic used to bring the man to his death. A chess game to destruction, a beautiful dance.**_

_**24) **_

_**Twenty-four nearly kills him – the boy is barely sixteen, and Yamamoto can't help but underestimate the cheerful and confident challenger. But he is faster, he is stronger, he is younger and he is fiercer then even Yamamoto himself. The boy soon has his sword at Yamamoto's throat, and Yamamoto thinks maybe he's ready to die when the boy draws his sword back, turning away, showing mercy. Yamamoto feels a strange pang of sadness as he thrusts his sword through the kid's heart. He is certain that makes it quick.**_

_**25)**_

_**He doesn't remember killing number twenty-five, but he does remember afterwards, sitting outside the Boss' room, cleaning his sword. "Y-You made him this!" the pained voice of the Tenth as he snaps at Reborn comes, no longer towering over him as he once did. "You did this to him!" The irony is that it is Gokudera's voice calming the Boss, but he rages on until Reborn finally speaks back. "He was born for this," the hitman says quietly, and for the first time in a very, very long time, Yamamoto feels a stupid grin growing on his face.**_


End file.
